Talking Fiction

A chat with A. Yarden, Rochel Istrin, Miriam Luxenberg, Yonah Klein, and Brocha Miller

Gut Moed! Hope you’ve been doing some great reading so far this Yom Tov. Today’s mini-interviews feature authors of five of the latest fiction releases, including A. Yarden, Yonah Klein, Miriam Luxenberg, Brocha Miller, and Rochel Istrin. Whether you’re still book-buying for second days or just finished a great read and have the story lingering on your mind, take a step beyond the pages and discover a world beneath the surface. Spoilers ahead.

Ultimate Victory, A. Yarden - Coming into the third of a trilogy is bracing for a letdown, but Ultimate Victory leverages the built-up drama and emotion for a climactic conclusion that answers our questions and leaves us desperate for more. An oppressed native population may hold the key to Pridge’s peace, but can their fierce spokeswoman rally her people to a cause they’ve long given up on? As Pridge's enemies close in on all sides, Yechiel must stand on his own in vicious battles and bitter power struggles. When his unit pays the ultimate price for success, who does his loyalty really belong to? In the ultimate showdown, the power of the Fangalas is finally unleashed and illuminates Yechiel’s role in history. What if his fight is not for victory, but something greater? [Series must be read in order.]

Ultimate Victory ends the trilogy on a perfect note, giving closure and answering questions while leaving room for imagination. As we discussed, Pridge’s story is always ongoing for you, and no story ever really ends as long as life keeps on going. How did you go about creating an ending that would be satisfying while remaining true to the world you’ve created?

AY: A satisfying ending is very important to me, especially in a series, since the buildup is so much longer than in one book alone and therefore that much more compelling. I have found that even if I followed a series that I enjoyed a lot, a conclusion that was too abrupt or left too many questions open ruined the entire story for me. Even if I wanted to reread the series, knowing that the ending was disappointing took so much of the enjoyment out of it. That’s why I really, really wanted there to be some level of closure even if the story and characters haven’t exactly ceased to exist. As you said, a story never really ends as long as there is life, but sometimes certain milestones and achievements can usher in a new era in one’s life. At the end of Book Three, we see the characters entering a new reality, a new beginning of sorts. So it isn’t the “end-all” of the story but rather crossing a threshold into a new chapter. 

Molly challenges Gavi that he’s become a machine. As Yechiel’s unit grows closer, their role in the unit becomes their identity. Now that everything’s changed, does Yechiel’s unit stay intact? Which of the characters do you expect will have the msot adjusting to do?

AY: My pen has continued from where Book Three leaves off, so I do have that answer although I don’t want to give too much away in case we ever publish a sequel. To put it briefly, the unit does disperse but the guys still have this powerful bond that brings them together if one of them is in trouble. 

Jake and Gavi end up having the hardest time adapting to their new reality. Yechiel is busy ruling the country, Yerach goes to Dravidia to help the Natives fight and to search for some answers about his roots, and Red becomes very successful in the business world managing Jake’s assets (previously Reynold’s). Jake and Gavi are sort of stuck behind. Jake is still out of commission and is discharged from his army duties, and both he and Gavi struggle to find their place in this new world of “peace” while battling the emotional scars the war has marked them with - besides for the physical ones. They both have very different personalities, obviously, but they are similar in the way that they are both fiercely loyal and identify themselves by the value they bring to the people they care about, protect, or even sacrifice themselves for. Once the danger passes and their sacrifices aren’t needed anymore, it is a challenge for both of them to throw away the assumptions they had beforehand of what their real value is in this world and discover who they really can be for themselves.

The Last Rebbe of Lodz, Yonah Klein - The dispersed Ginzburg family is working to rebuild the glory of their past, but a hidden adversary is working against them. Izzy is settled into his monotonous single life and good enough job, until upheaval disrupts his comfortable routine and he finds himself adrift. Zach has everything going for him and is gearing up for a House bid when longtime allies turn on him and release accusations that will end his career. Two distant cousins at crossroads in their lives, brought together by a shared mission. A slow build-up to a dramatic string of events, blending humor, introspection, and suspense.

Zach and Izzy couldn’t be more different, but as each finds himself in a similar crosspoint in life, they go through an intense experience together and undergo similar transformations. What had to happen to bring them to that point? And how do their differences enhance, rather than hurt, their journey?

YK: I think a lot of what keeps us apart is our preconceptions, the assumptions that we make about how everyone else "for sure" will think such-and-such, and it's not even worth trying to change their minds. For instance, Zach would never normally have been open to a religious experience. Even if he'd gone to Lodz, he wouldn't have made it into a spiritual journey. But with his life falling apart around him, his vulnerability and uncertain future allowed him to open up to new situations.

In the same way, Izzy would have assumed (and in fact DID assume) that Zach was a closed book, a one-dimensional man titled POLITICIAN, with nothing else to offer. But he, too, left his comfort zone, both in terms of his job and his trek across the world, and as a result had the chance to really discover his cousin.When people are forced into situations where they don't have "prepared scripts"  for how to react, they are more open to new experiences to be surprised and impressed.

Who would have thought Zach is such a musical powerhouse? And Izzy, as "simple" a Jew as he is, has resources he never would have imagined. Often, the first step of a journey of discovery is to leave behind the familiar and go somewhere new. That gives us a chance to tap into our deepest selves and transcend.

As far as their differences are concerned, they're complimentary. Without Zach's well-honed political savvy, they'd never have navigated the complex relationships that come into play when Lenny gets involved. And without Izzy's drive, Zach never would have cared to get involved in the first place.

The Last Rebbe of Lodz is a unique blend of genre, between family drama, internal struggle, mystery, and suspense. Which of these did you start with? How do you feel the combination of these enhances the story?

YK: I started this story with a mood, an atmosphere. I wanted a haunting sense of a world that had disappeared. The title of the story was almost the first thing that came to me, and I built the rest of the story around it.

The original version of this story was planned as a comic, and it was much more action-oriented. When I reimagined it as a book, I had to make it more cerebral, and I also had to flesh out a lot more characters and subplots. The Ginzburg family history became a major part of the story, as did the journeys of Zach and Izzy. Julia's story was a surprise to me - I hadn't planned her in as such an important character, but her part kept growing into greater prominence.

I feel that the way the stories move from one aspect to another helps to keep it fresh and interesting. Ultimately, I think it's the characters that really give the story its special glow.

Canceled, Miriam Luxenberg - On a routine flight to LA, Leslie Stone, fierce women’s rights influencer, is caught in the crosshairs between a Chassidic man and a furious passenger, connecting her to the Williamsburg family forever. Her carefully curated online identity is in shatters, leaving her with no direction or hope. When her cancelation follows her to the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, she hits rock bottom. A vibrant and contemporary story about identity and growth.

The world of social media and women's advocacy is a far way from the Yerushalayim you typically write about. What led you to this premise? And how do you think Leslie’s cancelation has parallels in a typical frum woman's life?

ML: It was very hard for me to veer away from my beloved Yerushalayim, but there is something about the cyberbullying so prevalent today that tears at me. I was bullied as a child and teenager (see my book Zero Tolerance, Jerusalem Publications) and while it was extremely unpleasant, it was at least localized. The humiliation people endure online, exposed for all the world to see, can have catastrophic consequences. Leslie's experience was intentionally mild compared to others because I wanted to protect the readers.  I already felt there was a bit of overexposure for those who have no experience with social media, but there was no way around that if I wanted to tell an authentic story. (Ironically, I have absolutely no kesher with social media. I did a lot of research.)

Regarding parallels, I think it's more like an anti-parallel. Leslie's version of feminism is so skewed and backward that even when she was doing a normal act of kindness, so second-nature for frum Jews, her followers turned on her. It was a blessing for her that she got canceled! Although there are always exceptions, most frum women know how to actualize their potential to the fullest within the boundaries of the Torah. Davening, keeping mitzvos, and hopefully moving on to marriage and motherhood challenges us to the enth degree, and when we rise up to meet those challenges we become ever more powerful. 

Quang is a fascinating minor character, whose correspondence with an American soldier opens new horizons, but limits his choices. How does his journey to yiddishkeit contrast or compare with Leslie’s?

ML: In a way, Quang is also at the heart of the story. Both he and Leslie experience limitations, but there are completely different underlying motivations. Quang's are filial – he is knowledgeable but he does not want to offend or alienate his benefactor. Leslie is in worse shape, because she is ignorant. She has no idea why she is being punished for something she feels no connection to, whereas Quang has the spiritual connection but cannot act upon it. Leslie has all the opportunity in the world, but little interest. As I was writing the story, I felt so sorry for her. She is like a queen who has no awareness of her own greatness and no idea that she is the empress of an entire kingdom if only she would don the crown that is literally at her feet. 

Quang's journey was joyful, if laced with the pain of remaining an outsider, whereas Leslie's process was agonizing from beginning to end. Yiddishkeit and Torah observance are precious, but the journey toward it is not always smooth sailing. I felt I would be unfaithful to Leslie if I did not document her journey in a realistic way. An ignorant Jew, meaning one who is ignorant of Hashem's role in their life and in the world, is incredibly heartbreaking from an observer's point of view. Quang recognized that in her, and set out to bring some of the joy into her life. I think he succeeded!

Hold the Line, Brocha Miller - With an exciting career at the center of the automotive boom, Nate Bernstein’s future is promising. But when his boss’s advocacy tests his ambition and identity and a shocking betrayal costs him his savings and trust, Nate leaves his close-knit family to chart his own path. Rellie’s elegant new home contrasts sharply with her misery, and she keeps her distance from her eager relatives and the cheerful Hello Girls. Two people determined to hold on to old wounds, until the burning fields of France and a Spanish Flu sick ward reach past the walls they’ve erected. A fresh and compelling historical novel about family, forgiveness, and the grudges that hold us back.

You chose to tell Nate’s story through the lens of an interview later in life, with the curious interviewer prying for details. What role does this interviewer have in the story?

BM: I think it’s rare for a person to realize they are undergoing a life changing event at the time that it happens. As people experience painful transformation, they may be unable to see the full impact. Mr. Hoffman, the interviewer, provides a framing device for Nate’s story. He offers the 20/20 hindsight, both personally and historically, so that Nate can look back and take notice of the important milestones in his life’s journey.

Hold the Line goes through a tumultuous 18 years full of rapid changes and dramatic events. Yet this history is so often forgotten in the shadow of the 18 years that followed it. What drew you to the early 20th century? And what led you to the center of technology advancement, in particular?

BM: I wanted to write something different, so I chose the era of the First World War because it is so often overlooked. The war had a major impact in shaping the 20th century, yet it’s often called The Forgotten War, due to the devastating Second World War which came shortly afterwards.

As for the technology advancement, that happened by accident. I know nothing about cars, but I appreciate historical details, and I took great pleasure in deep diving into the Ford’s early maintenance manuals. I can tell you how to change the oil in a Model T, but I wouldn’t do it on my own minivan.

Thankfully, you’ve left Bernstein’s immigration story behind and focused on their next chapter. But Uncle Simon’s generosity in sponsoring his brother’s trip from Russia is a lingering debt that shapes the family. How did the families’ earlier dependence on each other affect the next generation? 

BM: I feel that family attitudes are shaped over generations. Every family has a culture, a way of thinking or speaking that reflects their attitudes towards certain topics: Money and spending, politics and culture, supporting Kollel life…  I think these attitudes can be traced through recent generations. Think about your own family, if you had to fill in the blank of this statement: “Zeidy always ___.” Would that blank space apply to the next generation?

Captives Reunited, Rochel Istrin - The dramatic and satisfying conclusion of The Captives trilogy throws the dynamic characters we’ve come to know against quickly changing times. An engrossing and thought-provoking adventure sweeps across the country as it hurtles toward the tumultuous Civil War. On a Louisiana plantation and a Missouri farm, the scattered siblings are shaped by their new surroundings, but determined to build futures true to their pasts. As the country’s bitter divisions erupt into conflict, they are caught between loyalty, values, and the carnage of war. After years of change and separation, can they move beyond their newfound divisions to reunite? [Series best read in order.]

Tully’s connection to Touch the Sky illustrates his enduring connection with his Cherokee upbringing. Of the three captives, he has the hardest time leaving his past behind and moving on. How does his success as a scout in the Union Army change that?

RI: I don’t see his success as a scout changing him significantly. Naftali naturally fulfills his duty well simply because those are the skills he was taught during his formative years. Tully views himself as apart from non-Jews (other than the Cherokee). His military service was imposed on him; it doesn’t make a difference to Tully which side he’s on. He would prefer to continue his life with his growing family and friends. As the passage of time separates Naftali from his Cherokee background, together with the positive relations he develops with local Yidden in St. Joseph, his need for the expression of his past Cherokee views is gradually diluted. His roles as husband and father in white society gain precedence.

Each of the characters forms opinions and a worldview shaped in their own environment. We see this most starkly in their views of slaves, and their anxieties about reuniting with their families. Was this inherent in this generation of Jews, who adopted their homeland and were forced to fit in? Or - How did their environments influence our character’s opinions and outlook?

RI: It is inherent in every generation for Jews to be influenced by the society around them, some more and some less depending on circumstances. This explains the discernable differences between Yidden today, between those who came from Eastern Europe, Western Europe, North Africa or the Middle East.  The most prominent issue in the 1850’s was slavery. In our world today we see how political correctness and rampant materialism bend our views, often without realizing it. When I wrote the Captive series, I spent many hours researching the issues of the day and imagining how it would influence me if I lived then. I put myself in the place of each character as I developed them through their interactions. Were Jews forced to fit in? I cannot judge them, but it seems to me that ultimately adopting foreign hashkafos is a choice

Jim and Amanda’s story as runaway slaves is fascinating and humanizing. Aside from their convenient role in bringing the siblings together, what does this family story add to the trilogy?

RI: There were some things I put in to make the history of the era come alive, such as the gold rush in Captives, the orphan train in Captives Returned, and the underground railroad in Captives Reunited. As a writer, I tend to become emotionally involved with my characters (even the villains!) and it is important to me that they come across to the reader as tangible as real people.